We Hear You! Letters from Our July/August 2012 Issue

“Making Peace with an Enemy” was an interesting and moving memoir. I am curious to know if your stepmother knew this would be published? I write a blog about caregiving and struggle with how personal I should get, and whether I should be sharing it with my parents.

Thank you for your magazine. It is a superb resource in so many ways.--AnnMarie Mecera

Hi, More staff,

I know this probably isn’t the right way to contact and compliment the editors, but I don’t have time to read magazines, and so I’m not joining the website. HOWEVER, I DO notice the COVERS of ladies’ magazines in stores and supermarkets, and just had to tell you I really appreciate More’s covers!

Why? Because you don’t oversexualize women, with cleavage hanging out all over the place and the sexiest poses possible, and your headlines are not all about sex. From Julianna Margulies to Madeleine Stowe to Kyra Sedgwick, you’ve done a fabulous job of showing these lovely women without capitalizing on sexdom! I’m not a stuffed shirt, but some top women’s mags have taken an angle very close to porn the last few years! I’m surprised, after all the work done by the feminist movement, to see women as more than sex objects, at the number of magazines by and for women that have begun placing so much value back on a woman’s worth based on what she does for her man in bed and how much skin is hanging out in the photo shoots.

Kudos, More magazine! I wish I did have time to read inside (well, sometimes I glance while at the store!). I never hear anything bad about it . . . like Cosmo’s sensationalized pushing of pornographic Q&A’s and advice.

Thanks again. These are covers that we don’t have to worry about our daughters seeing.--Sheryl Young, Tampa, FL

I love reading your “Letter from the Editor” page each month — it’s so personable and not like the usual drab letters that editors usually write each month. It’s one of the reasons that I keep subscribing every year, so keep up the good work!--Helen Steen

I had a hard time reading “Where Did Our Friendship Go Wrong?” I really wanted to speak to Jacquelyn Mitchard. I wanted to know how she would have a friend who’d raised her son to be so disrespectful. For him to say such an awful thing is reprehensible. For his mother is sit by and just shake her head is really sad to me. My son would never in the world have thought to say something like that. If he did, I would not just nod and shake my head. For both of them not to apolize was upsetting to me. I would never have a person like that in my life. I would have run far away from this so-called friendship years ago and never looked back.--Anonymous

Hi, Lesley —

Your Editor’s Letter in July/August 2012 (“Making Peace with an Enemy”) was a “rip it out” saver piece. Our paths are similar, and we’re the same age. Your words “crunching barefoot across the shards of a childhood shattered by my parents’ divorce” brought me to instant tears. I’ve never read 13 words that more aptly describe what it’s like for a child of divorce. What’s more, I have an “evil stepmother” who hates me and my brother to this day merely for our existence. She never accepted my father’s previous life. She made his life a living hell every time he tried to contact us. She couldn’t have children of her own, so it only made matters worse. He eventually gave up. The repercussions of his outreach to us just weren’t worth the fallout in his everyday life.

For the better part of 50 years, “evil stepmom” and I communicated just a handful of times. Ugly is the best description per encounter. That’s why I refuse to this day to give in to the “chuck-it-all urges” when things get tough in my own marriage (30 years and counting). I never want my children to experience the pain of divorce.

It seems you have a happy ending with your enemy. I am waiting for mine. I can’t imagine what will bring that on, however. Maybe if my father dies before she does, we’ll connect at the funeral. But that would mean she’d have to contact me first to let me know he’s passed away. That’s a really bit IF.

Keep up the great work!--Sandy Swanson

“Where Did Our Friendship Go Wrong?” by Jacquelyn Mitchard was a godsend! I lost a friendship of over 15 years and felt like I’d been though all the stages of grief—shock, anger and sadness. The circumstances behind our rift sound similar to Ms. Mitchard’s; a few comments, misunderstandings, a fight, apologies and a slow drift toward nothing. I had thought I was doing OK and had made peace with this until my old friend recently had a baby. The wish to be there on this momentous event was made all the more painful by updates on Facebook. I was no longer one of the first people in on everything. Other women I had never heard of knew more about her life and family than I did. Our mutual friend had so many exciting updates and stories, which added to the sadness and sense of missing out. My daughter is growing up without knowing her or her daughters, and she is missing the milestones of my little one’s life. I felt angry all over again that one fight could ruin such a long-term friendship. Now, with this article, time and reflection, I am also coming into acceptance. Reading this story made me feel less alone and really cherish the friendships I still have. My thanks to Ms. Mitchard for sharing this painful episode and to More for publishing it. Hopefully, this will encourage more women to cherish what they have and be more supportive and forgiving of each other as well.--Natascha, NY

This is a test . . . :)

I receive More in print and online. Something I would love to see: haircuts for women who wear glasses. Your most recent haircuts for women in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s are great. But when I see lots of layers and soft bangs across the face and brow, I realize that won’t work. So many women wear glasses, if only for reading. How about featuring those haircuts for the ages with women who wear glasses? It would make it so real. Thanks for listening.--Mary Herlihy

I love your magazine. I especially enjoy that More is targeted to me: no silly dating quizzes or unreasonably short skirts. You seem to really know your demographics. Except in the finance article “Make Earning—and Spending—Fun!” in the July/August issue.

I was wary about trusting the author, who opened the column by bragging about her Harvard MBA and seven-figure income, but I kept reading because she claimed to “totally get it” (p. 52). But then I encountered the example of whether to buy a $500 coat based on $100,000 after-tax earnings. Seriously?! She just told us she speaks to women about financial management, but she seems to be unaware that the average annual salary for American women (from the 2010 census) is $34,111! Using Ms. Thakor’s instructions and assuming the 25 percent tax bracket, the average American is earning $25,500 after taxes for 2,000 hours worked, which equals take-home earnings of $12.75 per hour. Now the new coat is worth more than 39 hours of “slogging it out at the office”—nearly an entire week’s work. I doubt the people to whom Ms. Thakor speaks—or the other readers of your magazine—are seriously considering spending a quarter of their monthly pay on a new coat.

OK, so I personally make more than the average American women, and my household is fortunate to earn more than the median household income. But I’m still in touch with the average middle-class American, a quality sorely missing among some of our political and business leaders—and this article’s author. Surely your editors didn’t mean to pour salt on the economic wound of your readers? Because that coat example sure stung. Thanks for hearing my point of view!--Kate Williams, Clemson, SC

It is rare that a piece of writing will touch me as did “Where Did Our Friendship Go Wrong?” by Jacquelyn Mitchard. I read every word two—maybe three—times wondering how Ms. Mitchard got into my head so eloquently and thoroughly. Or how she could state her case with such brutal honesty. Too bad we don't have time and space to have a group who could sit down with her and have tea and conversation.

Of course I have ordered her book. She has rocked me with her article. I am in my early seventies and have lost a friend much the same as she. Actually more than once. Damn it!--JS

Just finished your excellent article on lost friendship (“Where Did Our Friendship Go Wrong?”). I suffered a similar loss, now going on 18 years. The pain was enormous, and I spent many a day weeping.You really hit the emotions experienced on the mark. It took me at least 10 years to recognize not only that the experience made me a better friend but also that I grew in ways I never could have imagined had I remained tethered to my "other half." It takes distance (years) to realize the personal benefits gleaned from such pain, but they will surface.

I know this article will resonate with many other readers, women who feel and give deeply. Thank you for giving me a vehicle to reflect on one of my life's lessons.--Jeanne Lucier

Your recent article on perimenopause and menopause left me without any information relevant to ME! Please don't be offended. After reading dozens of such articles in magazines and online on the subject, I have yet to find anything that describes my situation. I didn't think it was at all unusual until recently. I am 52 years old and have been on the Pill since I was 16. I stopped taking the Pill long enough to have my two children and went back after each one was born. I am still taking the same Pill! I have not experienced the signs of menopause. I assume that my Pill is working as a form of hormone replacement. When I have discussed this with my longtime OB/GYN, we agree that a "change" is not necessary at this time. I have friends who have gone off the Pill to see where they are in the menopause cycle. I have no Sherlock Holmes in my soul; I really don't feel the need to find out about something that is not a problem for me. Why would I? Let's see, maybe I can still become pregnant—not interested. Maybe I can start to experience all the symptoms that I have been reading about—not interested. I feel that I am growing old at the same pace as my friends of the same age but without the sweats and crying! Am I the only one handling menopause by staying on the Pill? I would love to know. Thanks for being there for our very special generation of women.--Heather H.

I was very moved by your July/August editorial about your stepmother. It was so personal, and it really made me stop and think about the relationships in my life and reminded me to always work on not judging others. It is pieces like this that make More magazine unique. It is written for intelligent and curious women. Thank you for sharing.--Therese Leclerc

I'm 51 and I love More! I especially like the success stories: reinvention, survival, weight loss (or wait—are they all the same?).

I haven't yet figured out where I'm going, but I love that More shows me others who have found their way. Great role models and the fact that many found success show me that maybe I can do it, too!

One comment on the recent article about weight loss (“A Better Body . . . Than at 20”): Showing the women's weight without sharing their height is kind of like giving latitude without longitude: 190 lb. at 5'8" is a lot different than at 5'1". Please keep this in mind for future articles on weight loss.--Sharon Smith, Allison Park, Pennsylvania

As an avid fan of women's hoops and the Seattle Storm, I want to say thanks for the great article on Storm co-owner Dawn Trudeau (“Dawn Trudeau Is a Game Changer,” July/August 2012). Her story illustrates the power of determination, persistence, and resilience—the same credo that the Storm put into practice daily. Trudeau's mantra, “Keep learning,” is a great one. I so appreciate her belief in the Storm and in women's basketball. And I hope she persists in working toward equity for women in sports.--Sylvia Foley

Thank you, thank you, thank you, MORE! I'm 30 years old and have been an avid reader of MORE since my twenties. I've always enjoyed MORE speaking to me as an older sister with very wise advice. Two articles in your July/ August issue gave me a moment of clarity that I literally thanked God for. “A Better Body at 30, 40, 50, 60 Than at 20” was inspiring. Lisa Hiller's profile of a near 50-year-old doing handstand pushups motivated me to get off the couch and lose the excuses. Also, the article “Secrets of the Super Resilient” was not only informative but very personally gratifying. To see someone else's experience with dealing with trauma in such detail made me also make the same conscious decision to be happy every single day. I didn't think MORE could get any better serving as a beacon for women. However, the moment of clarity that MORE has provided me this month made me feel more powerful than I've ever felt. Thank you!--Kenya, Herndon, Virginia

I really enjoyed your July/August issue of MORE. As a baby boomer, I want to learn how to be stylish at my age. All the tips in your Trends pages helped me a lot.

Several years ago, I was a subscriber. I wanted more of this style information, but I didn't see it at that time, so I canceled my subscription. I'm going to watch your upcoming issues for more clothing and accessory style ideas, and I will resubscribe if you continue discussing how trends can be applied for mature ladies.--Laurie

“Stop the world. I want to get off!!!”

Some of us are indeed old enough the remember that show/line/song. And we are now old enough to read your magazine. I personally felt that I was not ready in my forties and had no time then. My fifties flew by, and suddenly I found myself 65 and retiring. (Please add a smiley face). YES!!!! I find that after 40 years as a professional (speech/language pathologist), I no longer WANT to work. Somehow I no longer feel the need to reinvent myself—I just want to be who I have become after all those years! Which gets me to the point I originally wanted to make. I love your magazine, but I read a lot about women who spent a good portion of their live unfulfilled. Perhaps they catered to others or never did fulfill their potential. Well, More editors, I have already done that! Yes, I helped society in my small way as a professional. Now it is MY TURN. My turn to explore hobbies, leisure time and perhaps doing nothing more than reading a book, doing a puzzle on the computer, watching mindless TV, making a quilt that I may not finish or going out to lunch!!!!!!

Giving back is a part of what I do in some guilds I belong to, but it is not the focus of my life. Taking care of a sick husband and aging parent is part of what I do, but it is not the focus of my life. What I am going to do is “stop and smell the roses.” I will NOT start a new business, join the Peace Corps, adopt a child or village or volunteer to do anything remotely like what I can be paid for. I will live on my adequate retirement. I will meet with friends to pursue hobbies. I will become a “lady who lunches” (since for 40 years of full-time employment I could not). I will shop and eat and PAMPER myself. Not to become a better person—I am quite happy with who I have grown up to be—but to become what I thought the epitome of a More Woman was supposed to be: a woman who is whole and pleased with who she has spent her life evolving into!!!

Thank you,--Anonymous

In the two years that I have subscribed to MORE magazine, Kyra Sedgwick has been featured on the cover twice. She doesn't really have anything interesting to say. And if MORE doesn't start featuring women other than celebrities on the cover, I'm canceling my subscription. I thought MORE would have more substance than People magazine.--Jane

I thoroughly enjoyed your “Making Peace with an Enemy” letter in the July/August issue of MORE. Your clear-eyed and increasingly openhearted description touched my heart deeply. Thank you for this deep sharing and closer look at what you’ve been through. Not to mention what “she” went through, too. Nicely written.--Jane Pollak

I have been reading MORE for several years now and LOVE IT! I read it from cover to cover.

I have started responding to your contests and letters, but I never get to send them on time! During the school year I live a busy life as a professor, but I am enjoying my summer off!!!

I just received the last issue, and I read your “Making Peace with an Enemy.” You brought tears to my eyes, and I wanted to share my story of reconnecting with my mother, Sylvia. Please read it. English is sort of my third language. I grew up with my mother tongue—Castellano—and had four years of French in high school. I am a product of ESL and have been educated in English here in the USA. Please feel free to edit my story if you decide to print it. You can also check me out in FB as Ellie Galvez.

You totally inspired me to send this right now! Thanks for sharing from your heart!

Cheers, and thanks again! Keep up the good work!--Ellie, a Chilean MORE WOMAN in California

Lesley, I grew up with a loving father and mother, so I cannot imagine the hurt having to bear that as a child. I did go through a similar incident with a “best” friend. Went to high school together, did all the ’60ss things together, married and lived in same apartment complex, went to NYC together every day for our professional lives. We started to part ways when my first child was born and she was still locked into the ’60s experience. Our lives took another turn when I moved away to be closer to my husband’s job. Time went by, and we connected in Christmas cards and birthday cards but not as close as we once were. Then we both got divorced within six months of each other. She moved to the apartment near me so that we could be “Kate and Allie" and watch each other’s kids and cook together. Again, I met someone and remarried; she stood up for me and was happy for me. I introduced her to someone that she eventually married, and had another child. Again, I moved away for new spouse, and again, we parted ways.

Until recently. After over 25 years, we reconnected. Our lives once again have changed. She is again divorced; I am married for over 30 years. Our children are all adults now. I am a grandmother of four. Her sons have not given her the pleasure of grandchildren.

I will see her today for lunch. Time has changed us in so many ways, yet we still need to “be friends.” I reached out to her, more than once over the years. She decided it was time to talk about what happened. What happened is LIFE. Sometimes we just need to reconnect with our past, hoping to change what we really know we cannot. I will be happy to see her, and we will laugh and talk about old times and our lives now. And be happy to see each other.

I hope that you find forgiveness for your stepmother. We never know what is going on in someone else’s life and why they are the way they are. Take a deep breath and listen, really listen to her.

Have a great day, and I always love your Letter from the Editor and MORE magazine.—Carol Schierbaum, subscriber for many years

When I ordered your magazine for myself and my daughter, Adrienne, it was to bridge the five-hour travel distance between us, thinking that we could discuss the fashion trends and articles, and we would continue to share our thoughts via long distance. It has helped us maintain one of the elements of our mother-daughter bond. However, when I finished the July/August 2012 issue, something deeper happened to me, and I feel it’s necessary to write to you.

I first read the magazine in a surgical center while waiting for my husband’s totally detached rotator cuff to be repaired (first surgery 11-11-2010, second one in June of 2011); the surgery went as well as expected. In the More magazine I found that day (and managed to secretly remove) was an article on hair color that I knew my daughter should read, something like “Returning to Your Roots,” and the subscription card which I did later send. Eventually her hair color did change closer to her birth color, and we’ve enjoyed the magazine. But today's reading was meant for me.

In February 2012, my husband suffered a sudden massive heart attack and died (blood clot?), and my world and my son’s and daughter’s lives changed forever. When you watch your loved one take their last breath, it brings such tsunamic change, there are no words to describe it.
The article “Secrets of the Super Resilient” made me stop the tears and mounting self-pity for today and hopefully continue to guide my efforts as I redefine my life.

Many people say to me, “I don’t know how you can do it.” I don't truly know myself, but something in my brain, in my being, has told me over and over to keep pushing . . . allow the pain, the tears, the fears, the financial woes, the enormity to engulf me, and it has every day since his passing. Minutes can be endless while you grieve, but time does not stop. I know that I can't change or fix what has happened, that I must push forward. Writing continues to help my daily struggles as I learn what it means to become a widow at age 55.

Next week I am traveling with my two-year-old yellow Lab, Jack, the five hours to visit my daughter. It was a trip my husband and I had planned to make and celebrate our (7-14) 28th anniversary. All is different now, but I am going—with some trepidation, as Jack has only gone as far as our local vet! But I've learned that love is all that lasts, and it needs to be shared from the cradle to the grave and beyond.

Of course, we have never met in person, but I have been a reader since the first issue of MORE was published. There are moments when I wonder why I keep subscribing, and then I read something that convinces me to stay. Mothers and daughters have perceptions, realities and truths that are not always transparent. Your article reminded me once again to keep an open mind; many times the illusions/allusions don’t equal the reality.

Thanks for the openness.--MBF

Just wanted to compliment you on a fantastic article regarding perimenopause in the July/August 2012 issue of More. I am a nurse practitioner and both personally and professionally gained so much from your article. It is the first in-depth explanation of what goes on from perimenopause through menopause, putting women’s concerns to rest and giving specific hints on what one can do during the different cycles of perimenopause. Kudos to More!--Ellyn Troisi, Family Nurse Practitioner

You hardly gave me a moment to show you how smart I am, and wham! The page link will not accept any more submissions!

1. The magazine came in the mail.

2. It goes in the pile.

Days later I remember that the bills are inside the magazine.

3. The bills go to the computer; MORE comes to the bathroom with me.

4. I get involved with “Resilient” (Lawrence Gonzales) and replace The Buddhist Path morning reading to my recovering TBI son, Patrick, with this enormously fine article.

5. MORE returns to my bedroom, where I now read and enjoy my private time as a woman of style and substance. And wham . . .

Cut off at the knee. Give me MORE time!

--Susan Hopkins

I purchase MORE magazine every month for $4, and there are so many items in there that tell you to go to sites to read the rest or to download things, and I want this in the magazine. That is why I purchase it, and I think $4. is at the high end of magazines. Why don’t you include these things in the physical magazine? I may have to stop purchasing it because I do not think I am getting my money’s worth.—Diann Steed

Lesley, I grew up in magazines, working at Time Inc. for many years. This mag is great for the forty-something and over. You touch on a lot of topics that relate to us gals!!--Debbie G. Sanchirico

Lesley, I am a subscriber to More magazine. I read the piece you wrote on connections and had to write.

I am 54 years old, and when I was about one, my father and mother got divorced. My mother moved my brother, sister and me to Haiti, where we lived with my grandparents, who were missionaries. After a few years there, she found a job in Maryland, and we moved there with a woman from Haiti who was our live-in nanny. My father was nonexistent in my life; however, when I was 16, I met him, and he said he would return. But I never saw him again.

I had a very turbulent childhood and teen years and felt very alone, because my mother and I constantly fought, my sister always sided with my mother, and my brother is handicapped.
When I was in my thirties, I connected with my father’s family. He is from a big Italian family in Pittsburgh. We went to a family reunion, where my father was not, and I instantly found the piece to the puzzle that was missing in my life. I found that I was a lot like my cousins, not only in appearance but in temperament. Unfortunately, we do not stay connected very often. Which makes me sad because sometimes I feel like an orphan. A few years ago, my father died, my cousin told me. I knew I had a half sister, because when my father met me, he told me I looked a lot like her. He had left my mother for a stripper he had met while we lived in NYC. He apparently married her and had a daughter; she’s a year younger than me. One day out of the blue, she contacted me. I was so hoping to have a sister that I never had. But all she could do was talk about how tough her life was; however, she was close with my father, but her mother was a horror. We just did not connect. I still have her number on my cell phone—think I should try again? I am so tired of being abandoned by family. I just don’t know if I could take the hurt again.--Barb Smucker

I have been subscribing to More for several years now and love it! I am 57 and recently retired from my position as a senior research attorney at the Fifth District Court of Appeal in California. The retirement was planned to coincide with my only son’s graduation from high school. What was not planned was my husband’s acceptance of a job in Washington, D.C. The move took us all away from the social life and professional networks we knew. In other words, life as we knew it changed drastically. But I am having so much fun reinventing myself!

More’s stories so often go to the core of what I need to hear in any given month, whether it is how to deal with aging parents from afar, or launching a young adult who still lives at home, or finding a second passion after leaving a first career, or figuring out who I want to be now. Thanks for your good work.

In my retirement, I’ve learned to be a city dweller, I volunteer at a fair trade store, I’ve taken up piano for the first time in my life, and I volunteer teaching English as a second language. I love the latter so much, I have returned to school at the University of Virginia to earn an ESL certificate to teach adults English. I also spend lovely afternoons at the National Art Gallery, spend pleasant days exploring this area with new friends and spend hours relaxing on my deck thanking the world for being such an exciting place! More just seems to fit into this new life so well! Thanks again and keep those articles coming.--Joby Dupuis

I just picked up your July/August issue of MORE. I had a couple of ah-ha moments when I read it. The article on Dawn Trudeau and how she did not have a college degree and achieved sooo much! Well, I was on the Woe Is Me wagon about not finishing mine! We just moved to Wisconsin from Michigan, and I was in panic mode because I’d left a job I loved and now with no degree I am having a hard time finding a job. This a.m. I applied for a job that intimidated me because the women there all have MBAs! Anyway, we will see what happens with that.

Second, your own personal story about your ex-stepmother made me think about my own past. When you are young, there is so much more to a story then you will ever know . . . or maybe don’t want to know! My mother was ill with emotional issues my whole life. She was in and out of mental hospitals, and it seems every Christmas was spent trudging to the mental hospital with gifts for my mom. My mom’s family never went to see her, and all I knew was my dad did not like them. They did show up at her funeral when I was 23, but I snubbed them. I believed what I saw as a child and what I heard from my dad.

A few years ago, my brother died. Out of the blue a cousin showed up at the funeral. He told stories about my mom when she was young with his mom. It was great hearing things you never knew about her side of the family. I tried to find information on Ancestry.com and found a young girl whose grandfather was my mother’s brother. He was still alive, and she said he would love to meet me. When I mentioned my mother’s name, she named everyone else in the family but said she had never heard of my mother. Well, since her grandfather never mentioned her, that was very strange to hear. I felt that I would betray my father by meeting them. Would I like them, and what if I did? So many questions! Why did they not mention my mother?

I decided against the meeting and never wrote to them again. I decided on Facebook to search again years later. I found that same uncle’s stepdaughter. Her mother sent me a package of photos, letters all from my mother’s family. It was a treasure trove. I had letters from my mother’s brother who died in the war and photos of them I’d never seen. I will still never know what separated our families, and maybe it’s better that way. I guess everybody has a story and will live with the feelings those conjure up. I guess I will just have to live with mine and still wonder why?--Stella Holmes

I think you are missing the boat! Life doesn't stop at 60, 70, 80 or even 90. With everyone living longer, we need more input and style for the senior citizens. After all, we are very much alive and still active. BUT we need sleeves on our outfits at least to the elbow and collars for our scrawny necks, and regretfully, we can't wear stiletto heels or miniskirts anymore. I'm 95 and live in an area surrounded by senior citizen communities. We need a with-it guide or magazine. So please—some sharp looks for the over-60 group!--Beatrice Rogers

What’s with the fine print in the “Now!” section at the beginning of the magazine? Don’t you know your target audience already needs reading glasses just for regular-size print? In order to read “Now!” I need glasses for my glasses. Wise up! --Michelle Smith, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

The above letter was written by my Aunt Bee—feisty and sharp, and very much in tune with today's fashion. She enjoys More (although we joke that she should be getting two copies each month as it claims to be for women over 40). Perhaps you could use another fashion consultant. Retired now, she was the proprietor of an upscale women's boutique for more than 40 years and is still dressing me! (I'm 60.)--Susan O'Leary

Today I was reading comments from your readers and noticed that many of them feel the same way that I do. I subscribed to More at one time, but I soon realized that much of the content did not interest me at this stage of my life. I don’t particularly care to read about politics or compare myself with the younger faces that you put on the covers. I also believe that there should be some humor in your magazine, which was also mentioned. Life can be comical!!

I am 54 years old, and though the aging process is a serious matter, there is definitely some humor to be found in it. I believe that we need to laugh at our circumstances every now and then. And because your target audience is around the age where life as they know it may be changing and taking/forcing them into new directions and new phases of life, a little humor can be therapeutic. So I propose that you include a little humor in every edition; it definitely can’t hurt.

I really enjoy writing somewhat humorously about the issues and concerns that we as women have as we age. And I would like to submit an article for consideration if you are interested. Please note that last year my articles “Dealing with Dating” and “Fifty Something” were published in the online magazines WE Magazine for Women and Brandlady.com.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.--Constance J. Rouse